Confessions Of A Shopaholic (PG)

The ViewLondon Review

A disappointing romcom that suffers from an irritating lead character,
an under-used supporting cast, a largely unfunny script and a
cluttered, unsatisfying plot that's at least 30 minutes too long.

What's it all about?
Confessions of a Shopaholic is based on the popular series of
chick-lit novels by Sophie Kinsella and stars Isla Fisher as ditzy
New York singleton Rebecca Bloomwood, who shares a flat with her best
friend Suze (Krysten Ritter) and dreams of a job on a fashion
magazine. Instead, she winds up as a journalist for a financial
magazine run by handsome editor Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy), where she
quickly captures the public's imagination as a columnist known as The
Girl With The Green Scarf, despite knowing next to nothing about
finance.

Meanwhile, Rebecca also has to deal with a massive shopping addiction,
a mountain of unpaid bills and the attentions of a pushy debt
collector (Robert Stanton as Derek Smeath), while hoping that no one
at work uncovers the hypocrisy of a debt-laden shopaholic giving
financial advice.

The Bad
It would be nice to be able to say that Confessions of a Shopaholic
was a subtle indictment of the financial irresponsibility that led to
the current credit crunch, but sadly, that's not really the case and
the scriptwriters are more concerned with pratfalls and vaguely
tasteless jokes about addiction (e.g. a scene where Rebecca
accidentally causes her entire Shopaholics group to relapse by talking
about how great shopping is).

It doesn't help that Rebecca is a deeply irritating, horribly
self-obsessed character to begin with. Isla Fisher has been adorable
and funny elsewhere, but she struggles painfully here and there's zero
chemistry between her and Dancy to boot.

The Worst
On top of that, the film wastes a talented supporting cast, to the
point where you really feel sorry for them, particularly Joan Cusack,
who, rather shockingly, is playing Fisher's mother.

Worth seeing?
Confessions of a Shopaholic is a disappointing romcom that fails to push any of the required emotional buttons, thanks to a sloppy, unfocussed script and a central character who's impossible to care about.